Improvement in car-propellers



' N.`A. G STON. Car-Propeller.

Patented Nov. '4,1879.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

-NATHAN A. GASTON, OF NEW PROSPECT, MISSISSIPPI.

IMPROVEMENT lN GAR-PROPELLERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 221,227. datcd November 4, 1879; application filed April 30, 1879.

TO all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, NA HAN ALEXANDER ,GAS'FON, of New Prospect, Choctaw County, Mississippi, have invented a new and useful' Machine for Propelling Cars, of which the fol- ]owing is a specification.

My invention relates to an improvement in propelling cars by horse-power 5 and it consists in placing a tread-power provided with a re- Versin g mechanism upon a car, whereby horses can be used to propel cars upon the railroad where it would not pay to run alocomotive or use steanl, and at the same time do away with the noise anddanger that are always attendant upon the use of stealn in cities, as will be Inore fully described hereinafter. Figure 1 is a part vertical section, showing the reversingmechanism. Fig. 2 is a perspective View of one of my propellers complete.

A represents a suitable truck or frame of a car, which is provided with the Wheels B. pon one of the aXles is secured a pinion, A', which meshes with the large oog-Wheel C on one of the rollers or shafts, whichoperates the tread or endless band D.

Placed above the Wheel C is a pinion, F, which issecured to a shaft which has a flywheel, G, on each end, so as to greatly increase the power of the car in running. This shaft is intended to be raised vertically in its bearings far enough to lift the pinon F out of gear with the Wheel O, so that in stopping the car suddenly the power of the two Wheels G will be instantl y taken away, so far as the propulsion of the car is concerned.

The lever H is here shown for the purpose of raising the shaft; but any other means will answer as well.

The horse is placed upon the tread D, and

hitched to the cross-bar E, which is made relnovable so that he can pass in and ont. As it i's necessary that the car shall run both backward and forward upon the track, aframe, O, is placed under the frame A, and this frame is moved back and forth under the frame A by means of the screw I, there being frictionrollers J placed between the two frames, so as to make .the movement easier, A

By forcin g the frame forward, the pinion A' N. A. GASTON'.

\Vitn esses JNO. O. WOODW'ARD, J. F. GASTON. 

